Memorial Surimono

Description

This memorial print was created to commemorate the seven-year anniversary of Sasaki Chikuju, a little-known haiku poet from Osaka. Memorial prints such as this became common in the mid- to late 19th century because they served as a visually pleasing way for poets, public figures, and those with cultural interests to remember a departed friend or teacher. These prints became an extension of the memorial service, a way for distant people to honor the deceased in words; here 202 people wrote commemorative poems. Such prints were also given to the participants at the memorial service.
The host of the print (and probably also the memorial service) was Sasaki Ippu, a son of the departed Chikuju. Another person, who called himself Chikufu Koji and was possibly a teacher of both father and son, wrote the title of the inscriptions at the upper right.

Memorial Surimono

Shibata Zeshin

2nd month, 1883

Accession Number

43797

Medium

Color woodblock print; surimono

Dimensions

58.2 × 44.5 cm (22 15/16 × 17 9/16 in.)

Classification

woodblock print

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Charles H. Mitchell Collection unrestricted gift